England will be without Manchester City defender Nico O’Reilly when they face Croatia in the UEFA Nations League on Saturday, adding to their defensive concerns ahead of the League A Group A3 clash in Rijeka.

O’Reilly has returned to Manchester City after withdrawing from the England squad through injury and will miss Saturday’s meeting with Croatia as well as Tuesday’s fixture against Czechia.

The defender’s withdrawal comes as England manager Thomas Tuchel continues to deal with absences in his defensive options, with the Three Lions travelling to Croatia following a 2-0 victory over Czechia, a report on UEFA website noted on Saturday.

England will, however, be led by captain Harry Kane, who has been in prolific form for the national team.

UEFA said Kane and Anthony Gordon have scored in both of England’s Nations League matches so far, while Kane has also been a key figure in the team’s recent run.

The England captain has scored 19 goals in his last 21 appearances for the Three Lions, including a brace against Croatia during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Croatia, meanwhile, will be looking to recover from a 4-1 defeat by Spain in their previous Nations League fixture.

Both teams have three points from their opening two matches, with England having lost to Spain before beating Czechia, while Croatia opened with a win over Czechia before their heavy defeat in Spain.

Tuchel acknowledged the difficulty of the assignment, describing Croatia as a “big football nation and a proud country”.

“It’s beautiful weather and friendly people. We have been seven weeks together in the United States, so we have a great bond. To be here in this beautiful place and train in this environment, what is not to love? We expect a difficult match tomorrow against a big football nation and a proud country – a side full of quality.”

On his squad, Tuchel said Ezri Konsa had returned to training but confirmed O’Reilly’s departure from the camp.

“Ezri Konsa seems to be back after he did the full training today. He is a key player for us and gives us a lot of hope. Nico O’Reilly has left the camp and we have competition on the right side. Marc Guehi should be ready to go and very likely to start.”

England have also been dealing with further uncertainty at right-back, with Reece James, Djed Spence and Ben White unavailable, while Tino Livramento withdrew through injury, according to the match build-up provided by UEFA.

Despite the defensive concerns, England have attacking momentum, with Kane and Gordon having scored in each of the team’s first two Nations League games.

Croatia coach Slaven Bilić said his side would need to be compact defensively while showing courage when in possession.

“First and foremost, we have to be compact. On the other hand, we have to be brave. We have to fight for one another and when we win the ball, we have to have the courage to stretch them, impose ourselves through possession and be dangerous,” Bilić said.

“It has been like that every time. I expect us to be at that level tomorrow because only at that level can we expect something.”

Croatia forward Dion Drena Beljo, who scored against Spain in his first start for the national team, said his team would need to improve on that performance.

“We weren’t at our best against Spain. We want to play like we did against Czechia, and that’s what we should look like against England. The team that faced Spain had never played together before,” Beljo said.

The fixture will be played at Stadion HNK Rijeka from 5pm Nigerian time on Saturday. UEFA lists the meeting as Matchday 3 of the Nations League League A Group A3.